For Your Love
by Letta
Summary: Naruto suddenly finds himself in a world of confusion when nearly everyone he runs into is hopelessly in love with him. As his friends and rivals vie for his affections his life is turned upside down. Warnings: Yaoi, lang., violence, etc. COMPLETE.
1. Strange Afflictions

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Author notes at bottom.

Warnings: Yaoi, possible OOCness, profanity, violence, etcetera. If anything on this list offends you, that's your problem. Find another fic.

**For Your Love**

**Chapter 1: Strange Afflictions**

Naruto yawned sleepily, stretching his arms above his head. The night's build-up was released in a series of cracks and creaks. Time to greet the day. The first step in his morning routine was to empty his bladder, and probably the most important. He was about to proceed, when he distinctly felt a presence to his right. Swiveling his head, he turned to look at the intruder, blinking. The teenager rubbed his bleary eyes, but the image did not alter.

"Morning!"

Naruto's mind was suddenly abuzz and he could barely blurt out his question of the day fast enough.

"Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here!"

"I came to tell you that there are no missions for us today, so there's no need for you to show up at the bridge," the jounin answered, eye curved cheerfully.

"That's not quite what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant..." he began, chewing on his bottom lip before continuing, "What are you doing in my bed?"

The blonde sat up to stare down at the jounin, who had apparently, at some point in time, decided to lay next to him.

"Watching you sleep," Kakashi said, naturally. Though one of them seemed to be unphased, the other felt like they were getting a headache from the absurdly simple answer.

"...This may be a stupid question, but... why?" Naruto asked, more annoyed than he felt he should be for so early in the day. He watched as his sensei seemed to think over his answer, as if weighing his words to reveal a great secret of the universe.

"It seemed like the thing to do."

Naruto was staring. He knew it, Kakashi knew it. All present knew it. He supposed what he had just heard was the dumbest thing to ever grace his ears. In fact, the whole conversation went beyond strange to a newly discovered plane of idiocy. The wise course of action, to Naruto at least, seemed to be to slowly and carefully slip out of the bed, keeping a steady gaze on the jounin, as if daring him to move. It is never wise to move too fast in the presence of the mildly insane. Kakashi watched with muted interest as Naruto backed away from the bed to disappear into a doorway, carefully shutting it after he passed. A moment later, the sound of a pouring shower dimly filtered through the apartment.

"He's awfully subdued today," Kakashi said to himself as he pulled out Icha Icha Paradise. He flipped through the infamous orange book as he hopped off the bed and wound his way through the apartment to the front door. Without a care in the world, he deprived the dwelling of one of its occupants.

Naruto himself, stared blankly ahead of him as the roar of rushing water fell around him. His mind kept starting up only to quit again. Stop, go. Stop, go. Eventually he decided that Hatake Kakashi was a fucking weirdo. Granted, it was the most interesting start to a day that he had experienced in a long time. That didn't make Kakashi any less strange, however.

He wondered if it was some sort of test, with an unclear and dubious meaning... only to be explained later by the great copy ninja. _Should I go to the bridge?_

However, that question was suddenly overrode by a more pressing question that his freshly woken mind brutally slapped him with.

"_HOW THE HELL DOES WATCHING ME SLEEP 'SEEM LIKE THE THING TO DO'!"_

* * *

Sasuke opened his front door to be greeted cheerily by the famous copy ninja. Few people knocked on his door, and even fewer so early in the morning. Hatake Kakashi was not among those few.

"There won't be any missions today, so feel free to do whatever it is you do in your free time!"

A poof of smoke later and Sasuke was left alone. A free day. He wondered why. There was obviously something up. Usually when there were no missions, they would spend the day sparring or with some creative lesson that Kakashi would cook up.

So he had the entire day to do as he chose. He usually spent his free time training. Just because they weren't assembled as a group didn't mean he couldn't spar. The dobe was always up for a match, and even if he wasn't, a few well-timed insults could easily change that. All he had to do to find the blonde was stake out the Ichiraku. Things would progress as planned from there.

It was then that he realized he had held the door wide open throughout his musings. In a brief moment of annoyed embarrassment, he slammed it shut.

A loud growl from his stomach soon directed him to the kitchen, where he set about throwing together a breakfast. Hell if he was going to have _ramen_ for breakfast.

Half an hour later, he was making his way through the streets of Konoha, ears perked for any tell-tale shouts of the blonde's location. The Uchiha was having no luck, but he wasn't in any particular hurry, either. It wasn't as if the Ichiraku was going to burn down and he would be helpless to find Naruto. Then again, one can never be too certain.

When the aforementioned ramen hut came into sight, Sasuke smirked. It was not in flames. All that was left to do was wait, assuming Naruto wasn't in there already. In fact, when he arrived, the ramen stand was near empty. Most people did not find it natural to eat ramen for breakfast.

So, Sasuke took a seat, ordered a glass of water, and waited.

* * *

Hyuga Neji found it odd to be given the day off. He found it even more odd that all the other teams had the day off as well. The excuse was that there were no missions for the day, so there would be no meetings of groups. Normally an absence of missions did not mean the cancellations of groups. The jounin team leaders were highly suspect to him. He wondered what they were up to, and more importantly, if it would affect him.

However, that left him with little to do for the day, and the last thing he wanted was to be near the main house. If nothing else, he could find Lee, who always proved entertaining in one way or another.

As he was leaving, however, Hinata stopped him. Effectively blocking his way to the outside world. He hadn't a clue where she had come from, or why she was there, but he thought it best not to show his confusion.

"Can I come with you?" she asked, eyes glued to the floor, face flushed an embarrassed red.

"No."

"Please? I-I don't want to stay at home the entire day."

Neji glared at his cousin before coldly pointing out, "You don't even know where I'm going."

"That doesn't ma-matter. I won't get in yo-you're way. Promise."

Neji gave her a hard look before pushing past her to open the door. If he was being honest with himself, he really didn't mind Hinata. She was virtually invisible most of the time, rarely ever noticed. She was polite and nice to everyone, shy as could be, and most importantly, hardly said a word. If there was one member of the main house he could _tolerate_, it would probably have to be Hinata. Though 'tolerate' might be stretching it. This inclination, if it could be called that -it was more like indifference, was never to leave the safety of his own mind.

"Whatever," he said, leaving the door open for her to close as she followed him through. He didn't have to look to know she was nervously smiling in relief. It was a personal fancy of his to imagine that Hinata didn't much care for the main house, either. He suspected that she held a seed of resentment towards them. However he had no actual proof of this and had never even seen a hint to support the theory. Still, he liked the idea of people hating the main house. Especially main house members.

They were walking through the streets, Hinata respectfully following two paces behind him when she suddenly stopped. Annoyed, Neji halted too, and turned around to see what was the matter. The younger Hyuga was intently looking at a scene down a side street to the one they were on.

Curious, he followed her gaze to have his eyes rest on his day's entertainment. Forget Lee. Call it fate. On one edge of a street opening to a city square, nestled comfortably among the other buildings, a ramen stand innocently rested. However, outside of it, one very loud-mouthed ninja and dark Uchiha tossed insults back and forth.

Without a word, Neji began heading in that direction, Hinata quickly following, even running up alongside him as her eyes were glued to the view before them. Before they had even gone half the distance, the two teenaged teammates had broken into an exchange of fists. Not willing to disturb the scene of interest, Neji stopped at the edge of the impromptu battlefield, holding out an arm in front of Hinata, forcing her to halt her forward motion as well.

* * *

Naruto had left his shower in a slightly better mood than when he had entered it. Still, he felt unusually somber after the earlier events and decided the best remedy would be ramen. Since he was in a particularly low-energy state and he had no time constraints, cup ramen would not do justice. At least, not when his options were extended to include the finest ramen in Konoha.

Who was he to not to heed the call of the Ichiraku?

With a lightened heart, he set out for the stand of the holiest of noodles. His feet knew the path through the twisted streets so well that he judged he could make the trip in his sleep, and half wondered if he hadn't before. He could smell the ramen from two streets over and it heightened his mood so much he had forgotten the strange wake up he had received that morning.

However, the blissful mood he had been bathing in was shattered when he saw a familiar brooding figure seated at the counter of the blonde's personal sanctuary. He knew he was staring, he knew he held a look of disbelief on his face. Someone had entered his territory! Not that he would've cared so much if it had just been a coincidence that Sasuke was here.

Except that the Uchiha had a look on his face like he had just caught a fish with a baited hook.

Deep down, in the pit of his stomach, Naruto knew he'd have to wait for his meal.

He was angry enough to swear. So he did. Profusely and under his breath.

It had all gone downhill from there. Before the blonde could save himself, he was caught in a tirade of foul language and vulgar insults that had led them outside the ramen stand to face each other in the street. Then they were engaged in a sparring match, and he couldn't say who had thrown the first punch. Though, if he had to guess, he would be the one to take proper credit. That went almost without saying.

Even as they fought, they would exchange coarse words. Not that he minded fighting Sasuke. Not at all... except for when he was on an empty stomach _and could be eating ramen instead!_ Which was now. So he minded, thankyouverymuch.

"Sasuke, you fucking..." Naruto stopped short as he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

"Can't even think of a proper insult?" Sasuke sneered, aiming a kick at his opponent's stomach.

"It's Neji and Hinata," Naruto said, pointing indiscreetly at the two Hyugas watching them. Sighing in annoyance, the dark one dropped his attack, knowing their little match would be put on hold if Naruto couldn't be bothered to pay enough attention to put up a decent fight.

"So, they've been there for awhile now."

Sasuke scowled as the other ninja ignored him, opting to wave the two spectators over, instead. Reluctantly, it seemed at first, they heeded the invitation and made their way over. The Uchiha did not like this at all. He and Naruto had been having a nice little spat when two freaks from Freakville interrupted and stole the blonde's attention away. Blood would spill.

Hinata smiled shyly at them until she caught sight of Sasuke's death glare, and discreetly hid behind her cousin.

"Uh... hi Naruto-kun," she said, blushing a deep red as she offered a small smile.

"Hi!" Naruto returned energetically. "What are you two up to?"

Hinata flushed a deeper scarlet as she turned her face to the ground, too nervous to speak. Her cousin said nothing and merely cast his eyes onto the blonde.

"..."

"Neji...?" Naruto ventured, when no answer came.

"..."

"You're staring at me."

"Shouldn't I be?" Neji replied, without really thinking about his answer. He hadn't meant to stare, and the fact that the blonde noticed it had snapped him out of it.

"Why? Is there something on my face?" Naruto asked, hands flying up to rub away any imperfections.

While Naruto scrubbed furiously at his face, Sasuke stalked up to the elder Hyuga, and held his gaze.

"Go away," the Uchiha growled.

"I have as much right to be here as you do," Neji replied, menace lacing his voice like arsenic. Normally he had no particularly major issues with the sole heir to the Uchiha clan. Although that was not to say he liked him. He actually held some measured respect for him, but today, within the Hyuga, a deep frustrated anger began to rise to direct itself at Sasuke.

"You're interrupting my spar."

"Is that what you call it? I thought you were having muscle spasms."

Naruto had rubbed his face raw when he noticed that Neji and Sasuke were verbally butting heads. Slowly, he let his eyes slide to the corner, the noodle bar barely in his peripheral vision. Carefully, moving hesitantly with all his ninja grace and stealth, he allowed himself to blend into the background as he made his way to breakfast.

Behind him, the two boys erupted into a fist fight.

* * *

Naruto was on his second bowl when the seat next to him was suddenly occupied. Half expecting an incensed Sasuke, he looked over to see the blushing Hyuga. Hinata of the main house.

"Hey! You here for ramen too?" the blonde shinobi asked cheerfully as he stacked his second bowl on his first and reached for a third that had just been set before him.

She was a deep crimson, her heart pounding wildly as she struggled to answer in a timely fashion. "Y-yes."

"I love ramen!" he said, rather unnecessarily as he took on his third bowl. Hinata smiled, and debated on whether or not she should order a bowl herself when Naruto stood up, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Flashing her a grin, he slapped his money on the counter.

"Thanks for eating with me, Hinata!" he said, oblivious to the fact that she had yet to eat anything. With a wave, he turned and left the stand. Hinata Hyuga was left in the afterglow of his wake, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she stared at where the devilishly handsome Naruto Uzumaki had delivered his farewell.

The blonde ninja, meanwhile, was making his way out to one of the many wooded areas of Konoha to find a secluded spot to do some training.

"Hey Naruto!"

Turning at the sound of his name, he saw familiar pink hair bobbing as its owner ran towards him. "Hey Sakura-chan! What's up?"

"Have you seen Sasuke?" she asked, out of breath.

Typical.

"Yeah, I just saw him at the Ichiraku."

"Thanks!" Sakura said, turning around to run into Uchiha Sasuke. He was sporting coloring bruises and his clothes were mussed and torn, splotches of dirt showing up randomly. Apparently his run-in with Neji had gotten a bit out of hand. He was still bleeding from a cut on his lower lip.

There was a muffled 'oomf!' from the pink haired ninja as she looked up, ready to begin a tirade against whoever had decided to suddenly appear right behind her. Upon recognition of the dark haired heartthrob, she giggled nervously as she began to greet the new arrival.

"Naruto, you left early."

"It was taking you too long with Neji."

"But I wasn't done with you yet."

"Sasuke, I'm not going to wait around all day for you," Naruto said as he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded, brushing past a babbling and fussing Sakura to follow the loud-mouthed ninja.

"I figured I'd do a little bit of training, maybe take a nap, swim... something like that."

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks, a strange look crossing his features that Naruto couldn't possibly begin to identify.

"Swimming... without clothes?"

"Yes, I believe that how it's done," Naruto shot, furrowing his brow as he looked at Sasuke critically.

"Naruto, don't be a jerk to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted. Smiling, the blonde waved at the pink-haired girl before disappearing in a puff of smoke. He reappeared at the edge of a treeline and jumped when the Uchiha suddenly landed next to him.

"I'm coming with you."

Naruto blinked at him before grinning, beginning his trek forward as he called over his shoulder. "Fine by me."

Sasuke waited a moment, looking after the blonde, "Yes... fine."

* * *

It was when Naruto burst into his personal favorite clearing to find Neji there, meditating, that he begun to wonder why everyone was following him. Neji's hair was no longer neat, his clothes were in much the same state as Sasuke's and his skin, too, was left marked from his morning scuffle.

Feeling a disturbing sense of déjà vu, he blurted out, "Ne... Neji! What are you doing here!"

"Oh, Naruto, it's about time you got here." There was a brief pause when Sasuke came through the underbrush after Naruto. "Uchiha." It was a cold statement that held a dangerous note of warning and the blonde was at a loss as to why. However, he decided it was not his problem, so he ignored it entirely.

"Hyuga," Sasuke sneered, eyes glaring with unfathomable anger. He crouched down into a fighting stance, ready to attack at any moment.

Neji took the hint and readied himself for battle as well, after all, they were fighting for a most valuable prize, even if neither would say it out loud. "You're wasting your time, Uchiha. It is my _destiny_ to win."

"Let me tell you a little something about destiny, it hates freaks like you."

Naruto, for the second time that day, slid away from the two as they began to exchange blows. He wondered briefly if he should tell anyone about the bloodlust that had taken over his peers.

As he trekked through the woods, Naruto decided that training, for the moment, was out. He doubted he could nap easily, knowing that his freshly demented comrades were sharing the forest, so that meant he should swim.

* * *

Naruto splashed around in the water happily. He felt much more relaxed and refreshed. He loved water. He also decided he loved trees... and grass... and sky. Cheerfully, he took in a deep breath and dove under, legs kicking him forward as he propelled through the water.

Light from above the surface reached down to his depth and he opened his eyes, ignoring the slight burn as he looked around. Seaweed and sand. He had scared away all the fish a long time ago. When his lungs began to ache, pleading for air, he swam upwards, breaking the surface with a delighted cry.

His blonde hair was plastered to his head. Water streamed down his face and he was forced to close his eyes. Vainly, he used his wet arm to wipe his face dry. So he shook his head, freeing it of offensive water droplets, spraying everywhere.

Pushing his bangs out of the way, he floated on his back, letting his arms and legs dangle as his natural buoyancy kept him afloat. It was from this unique vantage point that he could look up and see through the leaves of the trees.

But there was something disturbing in Konoha.

Something was wrong with one tree in particular.

Green leaves... green eyes...

Red hair.

"Gaara... Why are you here?" he asked, his tone indicating that he was witnessing the chaotic elements of the universe crash together in a primordial rampage and that he should proceed with caution.

Gaara leapt down from his perch to the ground below, and Naruto had to flip off his back to tread water, just to look at him.

"Watching you swim."

Naruto stopped treading and allowed himself to sink.

* * *

A/N: To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should stop there or not. In regards to any sweet Naruto lovin', I didn't really make anything too apparent, as I wanted to introduce who all's vying for our favorite blonde's affection. Of course, I could never leave Gaara out, because I love him so. Even I'm not sure who I want the winner to be.

I named this fic after a song I had stuck in my head. I think it's by the Beatles, but I'm not sure. This bit also has nothing to do with anything.

This is my first Naruto fanfic, and I've been wanting to write one for some time. Mostly because of all the different series of manga and anime that I've read, on the whole, Naruto seems to have one of the highest quality of fanfiction. It just seems to have a higher percentage of well-written, quality fanfics. Am I the only one who thinks this?

Oh, and if anyone would be so kind as to beta for me... since I very rarely can bring myself to edit my own stories, I'd be much obliged. Feel free to e-mail me.

Now that I'm through babbling, I am going to humbly beg for your reviews. Or threaten, whichever comes easiest.


	2. Sasuke's Move and the Master of Love

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Author notes at bottom.

Warnings: Yaoi, possible OOCness, profanity, violence, etcetera. If anything on this list offends you, that's your problem. Find another fic.

Big Thanks to Sekra for beta-ing! Everyone hug her!

**For Your Love**

**Chapter 2: Sasuke's Move and the Master of Love**

Naruto was running, running through leaf and grass and underbrush. Running naked with all the speed he possessed, bundled clothes held tightly to his chest, reaching down and tangling with his legs. He was bare, he was nude, he was naked. Wet droplets streamed down his racing body, whipping off into the wind at his sheer speed.

He'd seen Gaara. He'd heard Gaara.

His brain had stopped.

He had sunk under the water to explode out in a volume of spray that had caused the Sand nin's eyes to widen slightly so.

Then he had grabbed his clothes and ran. Ran as fast as his legs would take him, and it was only now becoming important that he was naked.

He honestly couldn't say whether or not Gaara's behaviour was normal, because Gaara's behaviour was _never_ normal. If it was normal for Gaara, he hadn't a clue.

Slowly, ever so slowly, his pace wasn't as rushed, wasn't as desperate, and he could feel himself begin to come to a stop.

When he finally stood still, slightly hunched over, arms slackened, but not completely loosened, he realized how badly his legs were quaking. It wasn't just Gaara. It was _everyone_. All the events that had happened while the morning sun was still shining brightly, refusing to even be directly overhead yet!

Although, 'just Gaara' was enough to make most people run anyway.

Of course, his momentary peace was not to last. He could chalk it all up to life generally sucking and fate having an unquenchable thirst for sucker-punching him in the gut.

Amidst the thudding of his heart and the shortness of his breath, he gradually became aware of a great deal of thrashing and noise and that's when he realized that the direction he had ran in, was the one he had originally come from.

As soon as this great epiphany nestled itself comfortably into his brain, Sasuke and Neji tumbled through the trees and bushes, hands clawing and grappling and going for the throat.

It wasn't even ninjutsu anymore.

Naruto stared in disbelief as he witnessed the primal, instinctive, bloodlust that was set in a glorifying display before him.

The two combatants, however, upon realizing that they had an observer, slowly turned their heads to gaze upon one wide-eyed, naked-as-the-day-he-was-born blonde. Both Hyuga and Uchiha deeply blushed twin shades of deep crimson, flooding across their visages so quickly and fully that it was similar to spilling ink on paper.

"You're... naked," Neji said, as if in awe. Though any wonderment that may or may not have crossed his features would forever only be known to him.

Naruto looked down at himself, slowly taking in his unshielded state, thankful beyond words that his loose clothing bundle was covering what was important, before looking back up to address the statement.

"Yes. It would appear that I am." His voice sounded hollow and distant to him, as if this were a new concept never presented to the thoughts of man.

The concept of nudity.

It was quite some time before anyone dared to say anything more.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, eyes strangely feverish.

"I was swimming," he replied, flatly. Naruto was not sure if he should be blushing as brightly as the two before him, who couldn't seem to remove their eyes from his predicament. They had a deer caught in headlights look.

For reasons Naruto couldn't even begin to fathom, the two opponents visibly relaxed.

Maybe they simply needed a plausible reason to explain why their peer was traipsing through the woods, buck-naked. After all, neither knew Naruto for frolicking in the nude.

"Why," Sasuke began, voice sounding slightly pitched, "are you still naked?"

Suddenly remembering the cause for his flight, Naruto could only say one thing, "Gaara."

Confusion was evident on their faces, but dismissing it, the blonde spoke again pointedly, "I'm going to get dressed now... do you mind?"

Immediately, Sasuke slapped a hand over Neji's eyes, seemingly forgetting that he was still staring.

For a moment crystal blue stared at onyx shards.

"Byakugan!"

Briefly, Naruto wondered if he should kill them both. Quick, simple, no-one would ever need to know.

* * *

Kakashi would never admit, even years later after several drinks and much insistence, that he was startled when Naruto ran into him. Stunned. Shocked out of his mind.

Mostly because he had his nose buried deep in the pages of his precious _Icha Icha Paradise_.

So, when the blonde barreled into his side faster than lightning, he was taken by surprise. He almost lost his balance, in fact, he came so close to falling, that the memory would haunt him for years to come. After all, he _was _the prodigious Kakashi.

If he were anyone else, he probably would have fallen. Instead, he managed to turn it into a graceful move of letting whatever hit him fall to the ground while he escaped relatively unscathed.

Then he quickly looked around for witnesses.

None. He breathed out a sigh of relief. The jounin then turned his attention to the object of his chagrin to find a dazed blonde, lying helplessly on the ground.

_Dazed... helpless..._

Kakashi had a myriad of less than pure thoughts run through his head as he looked down at his student. Technically, the teen was considered an adult...

"Naruto! In a hurry?" he asked, happily as he helped the bewildered blonde to his feet.

"Kakashi-sensei! I..." he trailed off as he eyes fell on two approaching ninjas. Two approaching ninjas that he had just run into his teacher to escape.

Kakashi turned to see what had caught the teen's attention, waving when he saw Sasuke and Neji, who both looked like they'd decided to hurl themselves down a cliff to see if they'd live.

They both seemed to ignore him, eyes intently focused on Naruto.

Curiously, Kakashi looked down at the blonde. His jacket was half unzipped, revealing a toned chest. A navy blue shirt was clutched in his left hand, and his pants were barely on his hips. It looked like the teen had very hurriedly dressed himself.

Kakashi wondered if his mask went high enough to hide the blush.

Naruto nervously stepped closer to his teacher as the two ninjas stopped before them.

The jounin was still grasping the blonde's wrist from when he had helped him up, and allowed his other hand to slide to the small of the teen's back, all the while, grinning like a madman beneath his mask.

Sasuke glared at the familiar way Kakashi was touching Naruto, and he was wrought with an overpowering urge to dive onto the jounin's arm and cling to it as he physically chewed off the hand with his own teeth. He could suddenly envision himself steeped in the shinobi's blood, smeared across his mouth, gushing through his fingers. He really couldn't imagine a more pleasing thought.

Kakashi saw the homicidal glint in Sasuke's eyes and wondered if 'crazy' ran in the family.

"Hey boys! Enjoying the day off?"

He was answered with twin glares. Kakashi cocked his head to the side as if something had just occurred to him.

"Hello Gaara!"

The three teens looked around wildly.

"Hello." Up in a tree, the sand nin was watching the proceedings with a blank stare.

"Well, it's almost lunch time," the jounin announced, turning to his flustered student, running his fingers up and down the blonde's spine, "What do you say we go get some ramen?"

All tension ran from Naruto's face as he agreed loudly and happily. It no longer even occurred to him that he should wonder why he was being caressed.

Kakashi smirked, and before anyone could do anything, he disappeared in a poof of smoke, taking Naruto with him.

Neji grimaced.

Sasuke swore openly.

Gaara stared.

* * *

Naruto looked around him nervously.

"Uh... Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?" the jounin answered, preoccupied with what he was doing.

"When you said we should get some ramen... I hadn't realized you meant we'd be going to your apartment."

Kakashi turned to him, looking ridiculous in the frilly pink apron he had donned when he had set about cooking ramen. He raised the wooden spoon he was holding to thoughtfully tap his chin, before winking.

"A ninja should always be prepared for the unexpected."

For reasons he couldn't fathom, that sentence sent chills running up his spine.

* * *

Neji, Sasuke, and Gaara found themselves walking together, ignoring each other, and searching every known ramen stand.

None of them talked.

None of them looked at each other.

None of them acknowledged the others' existence.

Yet, they were all looking for the same thing. The same person.

None of them really knew why. Didn't want to question why. Just knew that they were all inexplicably pulled towards the same thing. The same light. The same radiant sunshine.

And they were coming up empty.

Until a blonde streak came careening through the street, knocking the three of them over in one fell swoop.

Mostly, Naruto ended up on Sasuke, who had up until recently, been wedged in between his unwanted companions. He still was, sort of. They were sprawled on the ground on either side of him, attempting to pick themselves up.

Naruto himself was looking somewhat dazed, mostly panicked.

Furiously fighting his own blush, Sasuke slapped the blonde. Hard.

In bewildered anger, cerulean whorls glared down at him, before turning into vague relief.

Sasuke knew people were staring. Was fully aware of it, even if the shinobi on top of him wasn't. But he didn't care. Didn't give a damn. Looking bemusedly above him, into the open, fully expressional face, it became clearer than crystal. Yang to his yin. The opposite side of the coin. One was not complete without the other.

Then Neji was helping Naruto up.

That ended all of Sasuke's self-internalized comparison bullshit.

With a slight sigh, the dark haired avenger pushed himself up and decided to focus his nervous energy on glaring at Neji.

Neji.

Neji who was doing his best to calm a frazzled blonde.

"He was making me ramen and he was wearing pink! _Pink_! With _frills_! Why were there _frills_? Is there something he's trying to hide? Does he want to be a woman?"

"Who wants to be a woman?" Neji asked, perplexed and shaken as a margarita.

No one had a clue as to what Naruto was saying.

Gaara spoke. "Naruto."

The blonde spun around. He paused. He looked at Gaara.

"I knew the man was a pervert, but I had _no_ _idea_! He killed the innocence of my eyes!" Naruto continued as if he had not been interrupted. They still didn't know what he was talking about.

Neji stiffened in what could be assumed to be some sort of righteous anger. His eyes blazed.

"Who? Who did this to you? What did they do?" the Hyuga thundered.

"Do you _understand!_ My eyes have lost their virginity!" Naruto wailed pitiably. He collapsed to his knees, the heels of his palms digging into his closed eyes, as if trying to rub away whatever images had been burned forever into his retinas. The three teens standing around him would have felt very uncomfortable, but this over-dramatization was expected from Naruto and by now, the people on the streets had stopped staring for the most part, so they only felt mildly uncomfortable.

"Naruto. Shut up." Gaara had his eyes locked on the orange mess that was currently shaking and moaning.

Surprisingly, the blonde did as he was told.

* * *

"Kakashi! I bet you..."

"I'm here to ask you for advice," Kakashi interrupted sheepishly.

Twin brows went up in surprise. The green clad figure was shocked and not afraid to show it, despite being in the presence of his rival. Nevertheless, he offered an easy smile and leaned forward in the chair he was seated. Always ready to help. Always ready to bestow his wisdom if he could.

"I need you to help me with... love."

There was a loud thump.

As Gai picked himself up off the floor and reclaimed his chair, he gave the other jounin a serious and severe look. "Love... not anything perverted?"

"I know all about being a pervert," Kakashi waved the question away with his hand, smiling cheerfully under his mask, "If it was about that, I wouldn't need to ask anyone."

Gai stared.

Kakashi smiled cheerily.

"Although... although... it would eventually lead to more 'perverted' acts. Yes. Yes it would," the sharingan wielder decided.

Gai slumped his shoulder forward, head hanging slightly. In an instant, he bolted to his feet, posing dramatically, and proclaiming loudly, despite the room's only other occupant being a few feet away, "Love..." He looked down at his rival, knowing beyond a doubt that his speech would have no meaning... yet. "I'll go put on some tea. This will take awhile."

* * *

Now calmed considerably, Naruto stood. He looked at the three crowded around him, not a face among them showing their concern. Neji looked angry, Sasuke looked annoyed, and Gaara... Gaara he was sure, didn't have emotions.

"I need to be alone to think..." Naruto said, rubbing his chin. This statement caused shock to befall the audience of three momentarily.

"Are you sure?" Neji asked, roughly.

Naruto nodded. Then he began walking away.

Neji decided he would respect the teen's privacy. He may not have wanted to. But he would. Because it was right and it was what the blonde obviously wanted.

Gaara understood the need to be alone. He knew what it was to be alone, but he also knew when he wanted to be alone, he wanted to be _alone_! So, he decided he would go eat some fish. This was a natural course of action. Everyone knew that.

Sasuke was annoyed.

The three watched the blonde go, before exchanging glares, threats, scowls, and what have you, before heading their separate ways.

Sasuke's separate way, was in the same direction as Naruto.

He didn't give a damn about privacy. At least, not Naruto's at any rate.

* * *

"Naruto."

No answer.

"I know you're there."

Still no answer.

"I can see your feet."

"Go away!"

"No."

The blonde jumped down from the tree limb he was on to land in front of the Uchiha. He shot the dark haired teen a venomous look.

"What do you want?"

Onyx glittered dangerously. "Do you really want to know?"

Naruto blinked. _Was Sasuke playing games? _Anger returned, blooming from confusion, sharp and hot.

"Duh! I wouldn't have asked if I didn't!"

Sasuke stepped forward, hand reaching the back of the blonde's head and pulling him in quick as lightning. The next thing either boy knew was that they were crushed together, Sasuke's hold preventing any argument as Naruto's mind sputtered then whirred.

Naruto... was in shock. Complete and utter shock. His jaw dropped as his eyes stared ahead, seeing nothing but the dark hair of his rival. Sasuke, of course, took available opportunities and demonstrated the talent of his tongue.

Naruto was gaping. He could not gape any more. He could not even react. His brain had frozen over with shock.

Vaguely, he was surprised to find Sasuke was warm and not as freezing cold as he had always suspected. Warm and... soft. He realized his hands had at some point gripped Sasuke's shirt at the shoulders. Neither pulling nor pushing. _Do something, hands!_ Normally when his mind couldn't keep up, he relied on his body to act... which it was failing at. Pitifully. If his body could react, then maybe he might know what to think of the latest development in his life.

An arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer than he already was, which was ridiculous, because he was already absurdly close.

He wondered if he should faint.

Suddenly, Sasuke's mouth was no longer so intimate with his own, instead hovering by his ear.

"This should give you something to think about," his voice was silky, seductive.

Sasuke tried to step back.

"Um... Naruto... you can let go of my shirt now."

Dumbly, the blonde complied, watching as the Uchiha heir disappeared. Shakily, Naruto collapsed to his knees, face madly red.

_What the hell is wrong with these people!_

Out of lack of a better action, he laid back on the ground, staring up at the leaves above him. There was a terrible feeling in his gut that led him to believe that despite all the trials he had endured during the morning, the day wasn't over and the world was likely to fuck with his mind some more. Hooray. Bring on the champagne.

* * *

A/N: I've decided I like putting my A/N at the bottom. It's more convenient for people who hate this stuff, especially since I have a lot to say, but very little is important. Although I used to put them at the top and bottom just to take up space. Sometimes I'm just evil.

This chapter was tough. For me, the second chapter usually is. Fortunately, it's done and out of the way.

Someone asked about Itachi, and I'm really not sure how to semi-plausibly include him. So as to whether or not he'll ever appear... well... that depends on any flashes of brilliant creativity I may have.

Once again, thanks Sekra for being my beta! She was the first to offer.

Thanks you so much to everyone who reviewed, I love you all more than family!

Finally, (this is actually the first fic where I've put it bluntly) Review!


	3. Advice and the Teen in Green

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Author notes at bottom.

Warnings: Yaoi, possible OOCness, profanity, violence, etcetera. If anything on this list offends you, that's your problem. Find another fic.

**For Your Love**

**Chapter 3: Advice and the Teen in Green**

Neji was unsure if what he was about to do was a wise thing. He was going to do it, though, in order to save Naruto from Sasuke. He doubted to Uchiha heir would appreciate the blonde like he would. He saw no reason to worry about Gaara. _That_ was one person who didn't have a clue. Sasuke was the real threat.

Sasuke would use the blonde. Ignore him except to take what pleasure he could get.

So, in order to rescue Naruto and show the loud ninja what love truly was, he was going to have to shed his pride. He had been hoping to woo the blonde slowly, but Sasuke's actions had proven that the Uchiha heir was ready to make his move, so he must rise to the occasion. Honestly, he hadn't been aware that Sasuke even _liked_ Naruto.

Grimacing, Neji steeled his resolve. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

He knocked on the door in front of him.

The Hyuga could hear movement from inside, scurrying towards him. With a flourish, the door swung open, and the ninja behind it posed dramatically.

"Lee," Neji said, before his team mate could even throw out a greeting, "I... need your help."

The teen in green blinked.

Slowly, a smile formed across the startled ninja's face, and before Neji could react, his arm was in a ridiculously strong grip as he was pulled into the house.

Neji couldn't help the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It looked to be a dark day for the Hyuga Branch House.

* * *

Gaara wasn't sure how he felt about trees.

Not that he felt much, anyway.

He knew he liked sand. He suspected he liked Temari. He liked Naruto. He wasn't sure about trees.

Temari was the one that suggested he come. She had said it'd be good for him to wrestle around with someone who had a demon stuck in them, too. He wasn't sure why she had winked at him.

Even so, he had taken her up on her advice. So far it had proven... enlightening.

Apparently he wasn't the only one interested in Naruto. Although he wasn't quite sure what his interest meant. Temari, who had become unnaturally perceptive, had said that his interest was romantic. She had tried to tease him about having a crush, but he didn't know what a crush was, so it was ineffective.

Romantic. Adjective. Of or relating to romance. He had then proceeded to look up romance. Romance. Noun. A love affair. Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people; love.

Gaara had then burned the dictionary.

Two and a half weeks later he headed out for Leaf. Temari said it was good that he was finally going to do something about his obsession. He hadn't seen it as an obsession. Just a preoccupation with a blonde haired shinobi from Konoha that had started a few years back.

Why shouldn't Naruto entertain his thoughts? It was only natural since the blonde also had a demon sealed away within him. It was only natural that he feel some sort of warped brotherhood with the teen. Albeit, a brotherhood originally founded on bloodlust, but it worked for him.

Then of course, when he had happened upon the blonde swimming...

Gaara had perched on a tree and watched, eyes growing wide. Naruto had grown since they had first met... grown rather nicely. The kyuubi's keeper was taller, broader... eyes not quite as round as they had been, hair still unmanageable... His jaw was more angular than rounded, fingers longer, arms more muscled, same smile.

Gaara had been captivated. Watching the blonde swim, skin exposed, water streaming off him, had caused strange stirrings in his stomach. Not unpleasant.

His body had done several interesting things.

Fortunately or no, he had been somewhat educated when it came to sex. Kankuro had eagerly lectured him on some finer points, as well as providing diagrams (Gaara hadn't a clue why the puppet master had possession of _those_), and several magazines. He learned more than he had ever wanted to know. When his brother had shown him his stash of forbidden materials, Gaara had arched a brow at the sheer volume.

As such, Gaara received what was turning out to be a very important education. If he was a different person, Gaara would thank his older brother, but he wasn't. Instead, he would show his appreciation by not killing him. At least not brutally.

Of course, his realization of his preference for the blonde meant that he should bed him. He wasn't quite sure how to get Naruto there, but he had no doubts that he would figure something out. How hard could it be to seduce someone?

It happened all the time in the videos Kankuro had given him. It was simple. You said some things that didn't make much sense, but as long as you used the right intonation in your voice, you could get anyone into bed. He had also discovered from these videos, that it worked on _anyone_. It turned out that the entire human population was really just looking for opportunity.

So, Gaara took it upon himself to create such an opportunity. This meant, of course, a little breaking and entering, but he wasn't the type to be concerned about that, anyway.

* * *

Sasuke ran a tongue over his lips. He felt good. He felt very good. He felt like running back and doing it again.

He hadn't expected to ever really make a move on Naruto.

Except for Neji. Neji had showed up and shown interest.

Sasuke scowled.

So he had to act. He'd be damned if he'd just hand over his very loud teammate over to the Hyuga. It, however, threw his previous plans off course. He had been very subtly working on Naruto, inconspicuously prodding the blonde to make a move. For if Naruto made the first move, Sasuke would have none of the blame.

Now things were going to have to be a bit more complicated. He wasn't sure when he had even noticed that Neji had an eye for Naruto, but he had felt jealously flare up when he had finally figured it out.

That had been where they were at –fighting over the blonde without bothering to acknowledge why. Now, he had the upper hand. If he wanted to beat Neji, he'd have to strike hard and fast.

Then, as of this morning, there was Gaara.

He honestly didn't know where _he_ fit into the equation. The arrival of the Sand nin had been completely unexpected.

Gaara obviously had some sort of interest in Naruto.

The nature of the interest was a complete mystery to Sasuke.

Stopping, Sasuke realized he had reached his own house. He could eat lunch, it was about noon and... he grimaced, he could change his clothes and clean his wounds.

_Damn you, Neji!_

With a slight snarl, he ascended the steps, vowing to beat the Hyuga into the ground.

As he pulled open his front door and headed for the bathroom, Sasuke realized there was one person he had forgotten.

_Kakashi_.

That one had thrown him for a loop. Granted the jounin _was_ a pervert, he certainly hadn't expected to compete with him. However, he didn't perceive much threat. Kakashi was a pervert, yes, but Naruto was starved for love... and attention. He was sure that Kakashi would give him plenty of _attention_, but as for the former...

Sasuke smirked. He knew his teammate better than the rest of them, he was certain.

He shrugged out of his clothing and began to fill the tub with water, sitting on the edge while he waited.

When Naruto had run into him... and knocked him over, he had been wailing about his eyes. Something about a pervert, pink aprons, and losing the virginity of his eyes. Seeing as though the last time he had seen Naruto before that, he had left with their sensei... _Just what had Kakashi shown him?_

Frowning, Sasuke shut off the water and slid into the tub.

Things had gotten _very_ complicated.

Leaning back, he started to close his eyes, when something caught his attention. His eyes snapped wide open as he stared.

There was a squirrel on his showerhead.

* * *

"Aargh!"

Naruto was confused. He laid on the grass where his rival, his _arch nemesis_, had kissed him. All in all, he had managed to conclude that it was a very un-Sasuke-like thing to do. If there was something in the water, he hoped to heaven it was diluted by ramen. He was suddenly very thankful he drank milk.

There was, of course, the incident with Kakashi that paled in comparison to this. It was rather insignificant now.

However, that was not to say that Kakashi was in the clear.

Naruto had a new goal in life. Sometime, when he was strong enough, maybe before he was Hokage, maybe after, he would personally kick Kakashi's ass.

Sasuke's too.

"Bastards," Naruto spat, seeking to place blame.

Gaara... he still wasn't entirely sure what that was about. Gaara was... strange.

Neji... Neji was... currently in the clear, though he was marked down for suspicious behaviour. In fact, the only two people he had run into today that had acted normally were Sakura and Hinata.

Well... technically Kakashi had acted normally, for himself, but that fact was pointedly ignored.

Naruto sighed and picked himself up off the ground. He needed someone to talk to. Someone who would listen, who would offer sage advice, who would hopefully know what to do.

He knew just the person.

* * *

"Gai, Kakashi said slowly, "You are the master of Love."

Gai smiled brilliantly.

"Then you know what you must do."

Kakashi nodded solemnly.

"By the way, since I helped you, do you mind telling me who she is?" Gai asked, genuinely curious.

"Not a she, Gai."

The green clad jounin blinked, slightly surprised. He had not known that about Kakashi.

"Then," Gai began slowly, "who is _he_?"

"Naruto," the copycat ninja replied lightly.

The master of Love stiffened. This was... this was... he didn't even know what this was!

"Naruto... your student." Gai stated, as if unsure he had heard right.

"I don't know of any others," Kakashi replied, standing up, "Well, thanks for your help!"

"This is your student! You can't chase after your own student!"

Kakashi stopped and tilted his head. "Why not?"

"Because it's wrong!"

"There's nothing wrong with love, Gai," Kakashi returned happily, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Gai stood there a moment, gaping. Then he sat back in his chair and began to rethink his ideals.

Kakashi reappeared inside the Yamanaka flower shop. After placing an order to be delivered, he waltzed outside, going through the advice that his rival had given him.

Going to Gai had been a stroke of genius, but then, Kakashi was considered a genius, so it made sense.

Pausing outside the doorway, the copy nin glanced up at one of the many trees littered throughout the streets of Konoha.

"Hello again, Gaara."

The sand nin nodded slightly in reply.

"You seem to like trees."

"Do I?"

Kakashi smiled through his mask, "Yes."

"Then I must."

Little did the prodigious Kakashi know that this was one less thing for Gaara to wonder about. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. He might have been mildly surprised that someone such as Gaara would wonder about his feelings towards trees, or anyone for that matter.

"I've decided I like him," Gaara said, unexpectedly.

The sharingan user raised a brow, though it was difficult to tell, and cocked his head to the side. "Who?"

"Naruto."

"I see."

"You like him as well," Gaara observed.

Kakashi shrugged indifferently, neither confirming nor refuting the sand nin's claim. He waited for Gaara to say something more, but the red head remained silent. For a moment the two merely stared at each other, before Gaara vanished.

The jounin instructor furrowed his brow. Competition. Albeit, clueless and unskilled competition, but it was still something to keep in mind. Truthfully, the only thing he had on Gaara was that he was no longer clueless. Kakashi, however, admitted to himself that this was a field he was unskilled in.

He half suspected that was why Naruto had run screaming from his home.

He'd have to apologize. Or deny it.

Best to deny. Avoid the subject, if he could.

* * *

Naruto spotted his target, not surprised at the location.

"Jiraiya!"

The sennin spun around, a blush staining his cheeks as he turned from his peephole at the bathhouse.

"I need your advice."

* * *

Sasuke stared at the squirrel.

The squirrel stared back.

Sasuke glared at the squirrel.

The squirrel stared back.

Sasuke lunged at the squirrel.

The squirrel ran like hell.

Thus began a naked run through the Uchiha mansion.

Sasuke crashed through his house, chasing after the rodent, madly diving for it as it dashed away.

The dark haired teen grit his teeth and increased his speed, trailing the terrified furry forest creature into one of the many unused rooms of the main house of Uchiha.

He did not know why the squirrel was in his house, nor did he care, but it was soon to be a dead squirrel.

He had lost sight when the mammal had careened off the hallway into the master bedroom, and found himself panting in the doorway, eyes raking across the room.

Some noisy animal jittering directed his attention to the closet, his gaze resting on the top shelf.

For a moment, beady black met sharingan red.

Then Sasuke charged.

In a brilliant display of animal acrobatics, the rodent gymnast soared over the Uchiha heir, knocking a box down onto the enraged boy's head in the process, which then obscured his vision, causing him to run into the wall.

Bouncing backwards, he was infinitely grateful that no one had been around to see that, living or dead.

Dazed, he found himself on the floor, pink and white paper falling all around him almost like snow.

The contents of the box.

Out of mild curiosity, possibly brought on by a concussion, he grabbed one of the creased sheets and his eyes widened.

All traces of rodent death and rodent fury erased from his brain.

The bedroom had belonged to his parents. Consequently, the box had also been theirs, along with the box's contents.

What he held in his hand was something of momentous importance.

Love letters.

* * *

Neji repeated what he had just heard. "Flowers."

"Yes!" Lee replied, enthusiastically. "They're very important!"

"...and chocolate."

"...and?"

"Poetry..." Neji grimaced, "and undying declarations of love."

"And of course, you must woo him with song!" Lee added, posing dramatically as he said it.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! I learned from the best! Master Gai!"

There was an uncomfortable silence that only one of them noticed as Lee went starry eyed. Neji, fortunately, was used to it.

Though, he really couldn't understand the extreme degree to which Lee idolized their instructor. For whatever reason, Lee was of the opinion that Gai was the epitome of some sort of warped ninja perfection.

Neji respected Gai, but he never wanted to be like Gai.

Coughing slightly, Neji was able to pull Lee from his silent idol worship.

"Is that all?"

"No! There's much more! Do that first, though. Then we can move onto to harder stuff!" Lee proclaimed, face going gravely serious.

Neji could vaguely feel beads of sweat forming as he hurriedly left, leaving Lee to himself.

"I wonder who he likes, anyway?"

* * *

A/N: Squirrel plot device.

Well. Another chapter done! The next one is even started! Yay!

I have to say not too much happened in this chapter. Don't worry, I'll toy with Naruto's sanity a little more through the clever use of young male ninjas. And Kakashi.

Then of course, the squirrel. I didn't actually have a plan for it when I first added it. I just liked the idea of Sasuke taking a bath while a squirrel watched him. I'm really not sure how I feel about that. Anyway, said rodent served its rodent purposes. Enough of my driveling. REVIEW!


	4. I'm The Fridge Repairman

A/N: I'm going to be in Canada for a week and barely squeaked this out, so if it seems rushed, that's why.

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction site... I don't know if a creator can really qualify as a fan. Point being: I don't own.

**For Your Love**

Chapter 4: I'm The Fridge Repairman

Hinata had evil thoughts run through her head, and she bit her lip in shame. Yet, it was so indulgent. There were so many many ways to kill and maim a person, namely Sasuke. She had been searching out Naruto for lunch, and when she locked onto his chakra, she head in his direction.

Naruto had been on a slight slope of a hill, peered down on by a few buildings, talking to his raven haired teammate.

Then she saw Sasuke 'assault' Naruto and she began to think of pleasant scenarios with the Uchiha heir that involved lots of blood.

Seas of it.

She hadn't quite known what to do after that, however, since she wasn't the type to give into urges. She was the type to bottle it up until her brain imploded.

Although, getting back at Sasuke _would be_ very cathartic.

Thus, she thought up different ways of possibly making the Uchiha suffer while she watched Naruto lay in the grass, mind in a turmoil of thoughts.

Until he got up and sprinted away, that is.

So it happened that little Hinata, of the main house of the Hyuga, began a downward spiral of evil descent into hideous revenge. For Hinata, that is.

* * *

Jiraiya looked at the Uzumaki before him, listening raptly to the blonde haired ninja. 

It was one of the most interesting things he had heard all day.

For it seemed that Naruto had an admirer. Four, actually. Even more amusing is that, in his confusion, Jiraiya's sometimes-student came to seek the help of his sometimes-teacher.

So Jiraiya would help. After all, what kind of teacher would he be if he did not bestow his wisdom onto his student?

"...then I decided to come ask you about... everything!" the student in question finished, brows furrowing as he finished.

"Naruto, have I ever told you about the birds and the bees?"

"The what?"

"This is an excellent opportunity!" Jiraiya roared, laughing to himself.

Naruto squinted his eyes and tilted his head, arms crossed, as he regarded his teacher quizzically.

* * *

Kakashi nearly ran into Neji at the candy store. He never expected to see the Hyuga at a candy store. It was ridiculous. 

Then it hit him.

The same thing must've occurred to Neji at that moment, for he suddenly glared at the jounin instructor.

Neither of them were shopping for themselves.

They were both shopping for a blonde haired ninja, the instructions stemming from two eerily similar people.

"You're a sick bastard," Neji said calmly, as he stalked passed the older ninja. Kakashi nearly choked in surprise, having never expected to hear that from this particular Hyuga.

Of course, he couldn't refute it, but it was still a surprise.

Neji, however, quickly paid for his goods and left the store, not once bothering to look back.

Meanwhile Gai still decided that Kakashi was wrong.

* * *

Hours later, Sasuke had enough ammunition in his arsenal to make the female population of Konoha die from swooning. Now he just had to locate a certain blonde. 

As he left his house, Sasuke failed to notice two things.

Hinata sneaking in through one of his windows.

And the squirrel that followed him.

* * *

Naruto returned home, face flushed an unhealthy shade of red. Jiraiya was rather informed. 

He had just barely gotten his door shut when he noticed something rather out of place. There were flowers... in his home. Lots of them. He walked towards the nearest bouquet, a fragrant colorful arrangement, and noticed a small card.

_Naruto,_

_Sorry about that... thing... let's just forget it, okay?_

_-Kakashi_

Naruto shuddered involuntarily as memories came unbidden to his mind and certain images sprung up unwelcome.

The next bouquet also had a card.

_Naruto,_

_-Neji_

This confused Naruto to no end.

_Naruto,_

_Please accept these flowers as a token of my love._

_-Kakashi_

_- _

_Naruto,_

_This bouquet is better than Kakashi's._

_-Neji _

_ -_

_Naruto,_

_As your teacher and role model, I want you to know that Neji is not the type of person you should associate with. _

_P.S. This bouquet is better than his._

_-Kakashi_

_- _

_Naruto,_

_Kakashi is a terrible influence and seeks to corrupt your innocence. Let your destiny guide you to this truth._

_-Neji_

Naruto stopped reading at that point.

Rubbing his head to ward off a possible headache, Naruto was headed down the hall when someone started knocking.

This was not an everyday occurrence for Naruto, so it was with some curiosity and trepidation that he opened up his door again.

Curiosity turned to outright confusion, but trepidation kept being its delightful self.

Curiosity was two-faced anyway.

Gaara.

Gaara stood in the doorway, with what looked like a tool belt slung on his hips.

"I'm the repairman. I'm here to fix your fridge," Gaara stated, giving Naruto the impression of a really bad actor playing a really crappy part.

"There's... nothing wrong with my fridge... Gaara," Naruto replied, warily.

At this, Gaara paused, then brushed past the blonde, to head straight towards the innocent appliance in question. Without a word, Gaara's sand punched a hole through it.

Naruto gaped stupidly, before running over to inspect the damage.

"I'm the repairman. I'm here to fix your fridge," Gaara repeated.

"You just BROKE my fridge!"

"And now I'll fix it."

"_HOW!_" Naruto yelled.

Gaara frowned for a moment before a cloud of sand suddenly lifted the refrigerator and threw it out a window.

Distantly, the sound of shattered glass reached the blonde's ears.

The Konoha nin stared at the window for a long time after one of his most beloved appliances disappeared through it. He felt himself begin to fill with an empty hollow feeling that he didn't quite know what to do with.

If anything, there was one thing he was certain. Gaara was a lunatic.

"It's fixed."

Naruto struggled to find the words to fit this scenario, but there were none in existence.

"You're supposed to ask me if there's anything you can get me," the Sand nin stated.

Naruto blinked, and he abruptly looked very lost.

"Is there anything I can get you?" the blonde asked, the whole situation seeming quite surreal all of a sudden.

"Yes," Gaara replied, still sounding like he was reading from a script and suddenly very close. The next thing Naruto knew was that he was pushed back against the counter while Gaara was not-so-subtly pushing against him. For the second time that day, Naruto found his mouth invaded by a foreign tongue.

Desperately, before his mind blanked out completely, Naruto struggled to remember what Jiraiya had told him.

_/Put your back into it./_

No...

_/Don't be afraid to get kinky./_

No...

_/Nice weather we're having./_

No. That didn't even relate to the subject.

_/Enjoy it while it lasts kid, you never know if it'll happen again. Use your tongue./_

Good enough.

So, following the advice of the sennin, Naruto responded, reaching behind Gaara's head to timidly bring him closer, mildly surprised when he was lifted onto the counter, Gaara straddling his hips.

Naruto's door chose to fly open at that moment to reveal a rather annoyed looking Sasuke.

The blonde reacted instantly, scooting out from under Gaara and trying to get off the counter at the same time. Unfortunately for him, the action resulted in him falling off in an outcome he wished no one had been around to see.

* * *

Hinata stared at the flames that rose up around her. 

Things had really gotten out of hand.

_/Damn./_

After a moment of indecision, she ran out of the Uchiha mansion like a bat out of Hell, stopping when she came across a pay phone. Quickly, her fingers sped over the numerals.

"Konoha Emergency..."

"The... the Uchiha ma-mansion is on fire!" she sputtered, hanging up the phone and leaving the rest up to the firefighters that would soon arrive.

She looked back at the dark mansion, slowly lighting up.

_/Damn./_

She had not meant to do that.

* * *

Neji was busy setting up his equipment when he heard whistling and the sound of foot steps, which stopped a few feet from him. 

For a moment there was silence.

"Kakashi."

"Neji. What are you planning to do with that microphone?"

With obvious distaste, Neji regarded the jounin. "What are _you_ planning to do with that guitar?"

"You two will not be good enough," a voice said from above them as both, caught off guard, spun to see a very displeasing sight.

_/Itachi/_ Kakashi's visible eye widened. _/Shit./_

* * *

"Naruto..." Sasuke started, eyes wide, before narrowing again. 

"Yeah?" the blonde asked, as if oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation.

"I..." the Uchiha heir began, then surreptitiously looked at his hand, "Your onyx eyes are the black flames raging through my heart."

Naruto shot him a very strange look. "...My eyes are blue..."

"Your hair, long and dark, is the blanket warming my soul."

Naruto tugged on a lock of his short, blonde hair. He regarded his rival curiously, if not with a measured amount of worry. "Sasuke, are you all right?"

"Uh..." Realizing that his plan was failing, horribly, Sasuke tried the next best thing. "Gaara's wearing a tool belt."

"I'm the refrigerator repairman," Gaara stated, leaving Sasuke in complete confusion, a relatively new feeling for the dark haired shinobi. That was when he noticed something crucial.

"Naruto... where's your fridge?"

Dumbly, the blonde pointed at the window.

Deciding that he was getting nowhere, Sasuke decided to be far more direct as he looked at Gaara. "He's _mine_."

"Naruto and I are the same. You could never understand him."

"You are not the same," Sasuke's eyes sparked furiously, "You will never be anything like him."

Naruto's eyes widened considerably.

"Neither will you," Gaara responded. He didn't like conversations much, and this one was starting to wear on him.

"Don't I have a say?" Naruto suddenly blurted out, defiance coloring his inflection. "I should, after all, it is my life and in the end, my decision."

There was silence throughout the residence for a moment.

"Then... who do you want?" Sasuke asked, voice eerily calm and steady, willing himself to remain as stoic as he could manage.

Thankfully, or not, an eclectic noise of music and what can be assumed was some sort of struggle, arose from outside the apartment.

As if in silent agreement, all three rushed to peer out via another window across the room, which Gaara hadn't succeeded in throwing more of Naruto's furniture out of. Thanks for small miracles.

The scene below was... not something any of the three expected.

* * *

A/N: There was more I wanted to add, but I ran out of time. Normally, this would not bother me much. Except that once I get back from my fishing trip in Canada, I have to go to basic training almost immediately. So, there'll only be one more chapter, sadly. I had fun writing this, and there was a bit more I wanted to do, but if I wait two months, I'll never pick this up again. 

However, I'll have a week in a boat to come up with something, so hopefully the final chapter will be loads of squishy fun. I'm not quite sure what I mean by squishy.

However, someday (if I get begged or bored enough) I may write a lemon and post it on another site, since that seems to be the fad. Jeez this is a long note.

I babbled to my beta reader, too.

Finally, please, pwetty pwease, REVIEW!


	5. Smoke, Mirrors, and Bingo

This chapter is also unbeta'd. Again, my fault. For previous chapters, however, we can all thank the wonderful Sekra for her help.

**For Your Love**

**Chapter 5: Smoke, Mirrors, and Bingo**

Naruto quickly opened the window, eyes widened as he stared down at the sight below. Gaara and Sasuke were crowded to either side of him, both curious and alert, ninja senses strained.

"Naruto!" Kakashi waved, "I wrote a song for you!"

Indeed, the jounin had a guitar and an amp plugged into extension cords and running off to who knows where. What was more alarming than that, however, was that Neji, eye blackened from earlier that morning, also had something of the same idea, as he had set up a microphone and speakers.

"Sasuke..." Neji called up darkly, anger seeping into his voice.

The shinobi in question smirked and threw an arm around a startled blonde, pulling him closer.

Neji glowered dangerously.

Naruto looked as confused as ever.

Gaara stared.

There was a brief silence until Kakashi struck a few chords, warming up.

"Naruto I got you some candy," Neji called up, suddenly producing a bow-encased red box, looking very much like he was going to toss it up.

Dumbly, Naruto reached out his hands to catch the present.

With an almost smirk on his face, Neji pulled his arm backwards for a moment, then letting it snap back, the gift box flying up towards Naruto's window.

Leaning forward slightly, Naruto readied himself to catch the offering, blinking as it sailed past him to smack Sasuke in the face. The Uchiha heir flew backwards, coming into contact with the floor.

Kakashi turned to the Hyuga, "I thought your aim was better than that."

"I hit my target."

From his perch in the trees, nearly invisible, Itachi spoke. "He should have been able to dodge."

Up in the apartment, Naruto had spun around to check on his downed teammate, who was currently sitting on the floor, cradling his nose with his right hand.

"Uh... Sasuke...?"

"What?" the dark haired ninja asked tersely.

"You uh... okay?"

"I'm fine!" he snapped, climbing to his feet to once more to resume his post at the window.

As he also turned back to the outside view, Naruto couldn't help but sigh in relief that at least one person was back to normal, that was until Sasuke reached around and grabbed him, giving him a firm squeeze before letting go.

Naruto jumped, eyes growing wide once again as a blush painted his cheeks a fiery red.

No one noticed the squirrel in the background.

* * *

Hinata had no idea what to do next. She was scared, she had just committed arson. Albeit, it was an accident. She had only meant to rearrange and spray silly string on Sasuke's furniture and turn on all the taps in his house... and maybe, she hadn't decided, but maybe if she was feeling dangerously ambitious, unplug his fridge and leave the door open so his food would spoil.

Instead she burnt his house.

She was sitting on a park bench currently. Thinking, watching from a distance the flames rising over a particular section of Konoha.

It wasn't her fault he had left his stove on! However, it was her fault that she had rested an aerosol can on top of it. Who knew silly string was so... flammable?

Who knew that when it exploded it would catch fire and send flaming pieces all over the kitchen? In fact, before tonight, she hadn't quite realized how many things in a kitchen could be quickly set aflame.

Now that the main excitement was over, she had settled down a bit. Though, she was feeling somewhat dangerous, it was... addicting.

Suddenly, feeling somewhat rugged and invincible, Hinata also discovered a crafty, calculating part of her mind. One that was brutally intelligent. At least, to her it seemed.

The first thing she needed to do was find a place to stay. She couldn't very well wander into the Hyuga estate with ash smudged all over her face.

She needed to act. Feeling dangerously risky, she came to a decision. She would ask Naruto to stay at his place. She could easily explain her charred appearance and he'd believe it, never questioning her, even after news of the fire spread.

She was thankful that the blonde was so trusting.

* * *

Itachi stepped out from the trees, leaving behind him the shadows and concealing leaves.

Next to him, Naruto felt Sasuke stiffen, eyes narrowing as they began to go red.

Then Kakashi began to play. The jounin was not a skilled guitarist in the least. Not about to be outdone, Neji began to sing.

Kakashi stopped abusing the guitar and openly gaped at the Hyuga. Naruto, too, felt surprise creep through his being. Neji... could sing. His voice was smooth and melodious, reminiscent of Frank Sinatra.

Naruto felt his cheeks heat up as Neji sang an old love song, staring intently at the blonde the entire time.

Sensing the danger, Kakashi struck a few chords loudly, drowning out the teen he was currently competing with.

All amplified noise was abruptly cut off as Itachi pulled a few plugs, coolly dropping them on the ground as he turned to regard the observers above.

"Sasuke, why is our house in flames?"

The younger Uchiha blinked, his glare disappearing as confusion clouded his features.

"What are you talking about?"

"Our house in on fire. Why?"

However, as Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, a furry creature of the trees launched itself at him from behind. Caught off guard, the dark haired teen tried spinning around to defend against the assailant, only to topple backwards out of the open window, squirrel and all.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried, lunging forward to try and grab a hold of his teammate, nearly falling himself before he felt sand grab his shirt.

Restrained, the blonde could not grab his comrade and watched helplessly as his rival fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The squirrel's fall was broken by Sasuke.

There was a moment of silence where no one moved.

It was clear that perhaps the main competition had fallen, literally. Kakashi grinned under his mask. His student, he could see, wasn't dead, but was currently unable to compete. Unless the Uchiha decided to play off pity, but that would tax the pride.

"Well, Naruto," the silver-haired jounin called cheerfully, "Who're you going to choose?"

"Is Sasuke all right?" Naruto cried, looking down at his sometimes friend, always rival.

Before Kakashi could answer, Gaara spoke up. "That was obviously fatal."

The blonde looked down worriedly, but sighed in relief as he saw the dark haired teen twitch.

"Sasuke's not dead," the orange-clad ninja refuted.

"Clearly he is."

"He's moving."

"Muscle spasms," Kakashi spoke up, adding offhandedly, "Brain synapses." Neji and Itachi declined to comment.

A low moan was heard. Kakashi looked like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar for a moment.

"He's groaning," Naruto pointed out, voice evening as his brow furrowed in annoyance.

Gaara looked down at the twitching form. "If he's not dead, he will be after that squirrel eats him."

Naruto turned to face Gaara.

"Squirrels don't eat people."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"You're wrong."

"Squirrels are herbivores! They eat acorns and crap like that!" Naruto shouted, nearly making the Sand nin wince. Nearly.

"Wrong."

Down below the window, there was amazement that Naruto knew what an herbivore was.

Flustered, the blonde turned his attention back towards the ground below. "Kakashi-sensei, help him!"

"What will you do for me?" Kakashi winked.

* * *

Hinata stared at Naruto's door. Her nerve had faltered as she raised her hand to knock, then she heard some sort of commotion followed by some shouting. Curious, and more than a little confused, she listened in; managing to grasp the fact that somehow, Sasuke had gotten hurt and people were trying to convince Naruto that his teammate was dead.

Then they started arguing about squirrels.

She was so confused, that she could barely react as the door flew open and a squiggling mass of blonde and orange ran into her.

Flying backwards, she tried to grab onto anything, but all she could grab onto was the person who ran into her. Her head made a jarring contact with the ground, dazing her.

Vaguely, she was aware of someone apologizing.

Opening her eyes, she blushed furiously as she realized just who was on top of her.

"Na... Naruto!" she stammered, breathing suddenly very ragged. The teen atop her blinked, realizing just who he had run into, clearly surprised.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?"

"I was... I came... I... may I use your bathroom?"

Naruto blinked before grinning, "Yeah, it's just down the hall and to the right. Well, see you around!" he answered before dashing down the stairs.

Hinata sat up, listening to his feet pound down to the ground floor, hand resting over her fluttering heart.

Cautiously, she picked herself up, and not knowing what else to do, she walked into the apartment, nearly having a heart attack when she saw Gaara.

Before he could even react to her presence, by say, impaling her with a column of sand, she ran to the bathroom and locked herself in, out of breath as she leaned against the door.

It was as she looked up that she caught her reflection in the mirror.

* * *

Naruto thudded down the stairs, out the door and around the side of the building to where four people were gathered. More like three were gathered and one was crumpled on the ground, trying to move.

The blonde ran straight for his fallen teammate, kneeling down beside him before he realized he had no idea what to do.

Tentatively, he reached out a hand, and gently as he could, put it on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Hey... you all right?"

Instead of answering, the younger Uchiha grit his teeth and pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his arm and wincing.

"I'm fine."

The blonde teen looked unsure for a moment before smiling brilliantly.

Moving quickly, though it pained him to do so, Sasuke reached forward and grabbed Naruto, encasing him in his arms. Turning his head in towards the other teen, the raven haired ninja licked the blonde's ear, smirking as he felt Naruto's heartbeat quicken against his own chest.

"Uchiha!" Neji growled, storming towards the two as Sasuke pulled back, a dangerous smile on his face.

Naruto, still in Sasuke's arms, looked like someone had dumped a bucket of water on his head, minus being wet.

Before Neji reached the pair, however, Gaara appeared, glaring in a decidedly unfriendly manner at the younger Uchiha.

In moments, five suitors surrounded the poor blonde.

* * *

Hinata gaped at the mirror. Her face was streaked with soot. Her clothes were mussed and singed, and as she looked down at her hands, she saw they were blackened by ash.

_/I've been walking around Konoha like this/_

With a sudden urgency to destroy evidence, she rushed at the sink, turning on the faucet and grabbing for soap.

Scrubbing furiously, she marveled at the dirtied water, wondering how the soot still clung to her hands. Determinedly, she attacked each spot of ash with extreme prejudice.

A few minutes later she had removed it from her face and hands.

However, her shirt had a few small holes burned into it, and a streak of oily gray across her stomach. Her pants were wearable, but the shirt... something had to be done about it.

Carefully, she crept back to the door and listened for Gaara, before remembering she had her byakugen. Feeling like an idiot, she activated it, relieved to find everyone she needed to worry about outside the building, although she was curious as to why Kakashi and Neji were there, not to mention a man who looked strikingly like Sasuke.

Searching done, she unlocked the bathroom door and walked down the hall, entering what appeared to be Naruto's bedroom.

All she needed was a shirt, then she just had to get rid of her own.

* * *

Naruto sat on the ground, glaring at the group that was arguing just out of earshot. They had told him to stay put, and while he would have normally argued that until he was hoarse, he was also insanely curious as to what exactly they were saying.

He knew they were arguing about him. He was the subject of their conversation, the center of attention without even having to do anything. It was a strange, alien, foreign feeling and he didn't quite know what to make of it.

Then they stopped talking and turned to him, as Kakashi waved him over.

Uncertain, suspicious, and ready to bolt, Naruto picked himself up from the ground and stalked over, ready to give them an earful, if that were the case.

Before he could rant, however, Kakashi spoke. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're all kind of chasing after you..."

"...I'm not oblivious, I've just been ignoring you," Naruto interrupted, wondering just how stupid everyone thought he was. Thinking of the girl in his apartment, he was just glad Hinata was still normal. He didn't know what he'd do if _everyone_ around him decided they liked him.

"Well, we decided to gamble for you."

Naruto felt his jaw drop_. /The hell/_

"We're going to play... bingo," Sasuke said with obvious distaste.

The blonde shinobi stared at the group. He wasn't sure he wanted to know who came up with that idea. It was possibly the stupidest thing he had heard in all his life.

"Bingo? _Bingo_! Who settles something like this with bingo? Don't I get a say in this?"

* * *

"I-19... I-19," Naruto called out marking his own bingo sheet. If he was lucky, he'd win himself. Although, he had never recalled agreeing to this, he found himself going along with it. Someone was devilishly tricky.

As Naruto reached for the next bingo ball he felt something strange, a kind of tingling at his fingertips. Curious, he looked down to see the next number he was reaching for had a faint blue glow surrounding it.

_/Chakra./_

"Who's cheating?"

Five heads turned towards the caller at the question, eyes drifting down towards the bingo ball of deceit.

Slowly, as each ninja at the table realized who it was, they turned to glare at the offender.

Itachi looked untroubled.

"I think this disqualifies you," Sasuke growled menacingly.

"The outcome of this game doesn't matter. In the end, I will win," the elder Uchiha stated.

"B-7... B-7."

"Bingo!" Two voices called out simultaneously.

Gaara and Sasuke glared at each other, silently willing the other to back down.

Hinata saw a scenario laid out before her that she had never imagined she'd see. Walking towards the sight, trying to remain neutral, she sidled up next to Naruto.

"What's going on?"

Glancing to his side to look at her, Naruto looked more annoyed than anything.

"They're trying to make out a schedule for when they 'get' me."

Hinata frowned visibly when Neji suddenly spoke up.

"Hinata, why do you smell like smoke?"

* * *

When Sasuke and Gaara finally reached an agreement, Gaara walked up to the blonde, picked him up via sand, and threw him over his shoulder.

Naruto yelped in surprise, wide eyed and confused as Gaara carried him away.

"What the hell is going on!" Naruto yelled.

"You're mine for the next week."

There was a brief silence.

"Then what?"

"Then you go to Uchiha."

"Do you actually think this is going to work?" Naruto asked, jumping slightly as Gaara's hand slid up his thigh.

"For now."

"So, what is it, exactly, that you plan on doing?"

"We are going to fuck like rabbits."

Naruto swore he could hear the grin in that answer.

* * *

A/N: Whew! This was very hard for me to end, especially since I want to add more, but I just don't have the time. My flight leaves in less than twelve hours, and I'm not even done packing yet, and somewhere in there I have to get a night's worth of sleep.

Gah!

Turns out Gaara was a popular guy. I felt kind of bad for everything I did to Sasuke, who was in second, so I tied them.

Maybe when I come back I'll do a short sequel or something. I had lots of fun writing this, though! I have a couple of ideas churning around through my head, so maybe in six and a half weeks from now, I can type one out.

Lastly, but definitely not least: REVIEW!


	6. Epilogue… Sort Of

I realize I said this was complete if any of you bothered to read the author notes at the bottom of the last chapter. A wannabe explanation is at the bottom of this if you care.

**For Your Love**

**Chapter 6: Epilogue… Sort Of**

_TWO WEEKS LATER_

The pair sat at the counter, momentarily caught up in silence as thoughts idly chased around their heads.

"Shikamaru, why didn't you try for me? You could've easily outsmarted them all."

The Nara genius gaped.

"You mean, you _wanted_ me to!"

The blonde shrugged, then offered an easy smile.

"Yeah, you'd be too lazy to try anything!"

Annoyed, Shikamaru found it within himself to smack Naruto on the back of the head. He had heard of the… competition… that had occurred from Chouji, who had heard it from Kiba… and beyond that, he couldn't be bothered to care to learn where Kiba had heard it from.

He had felt sorry for the blonde.

Which would probably explain why he had allowed himself to "secretly" meet Naruto at a ramen bar. Although, the blonde had taken care not to choose Ichiraku's, it was still a ramen stand, and therefore, still predictable.

He was fully aware of the glare he was receiving as the holder of the kyuubi was currently rubbing the back of his head.

"I was surprised, though…" the blonde began, thoughtfully, "I really would have guessed that Gaara would be worse."

At this, Shikamaru raised his eyebrows.

"He wasn't?"

"No, he said something about not wanting to force me and well, I quit listening at that point. Though I think he was just saying that to get into my pants."

Shikamaru winced.

"I'd bet money that Temari was telling him what to say. She kept making hand gestures to either urge him on or stop him when she thought I wasn't looking."

"So you made it back from Sand relatively unscathed?"

"For the most part. Every once in a while Gaara would shove me into a closet or something to feel me up."

"I didn't need to know that."

His response was a shrug. At this point, however, their noodle orders were placed in front of them. Shikamaru lazily poked at his, watching his companion from the corner of his eye, noting the cute squint of his eyes as he smiled beautifully towards his first love. Letting out an annoyed huff of air, the Nara teen pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. It was too troublesome to think about, and much easier to ignore.

"Sasuke was worse."

"Huh?" Shikamaru asked, attention suddenly drawn away from his own meal.

"Sasuke was worse. Or, he _is_ worse."

The Nara teen did not want to know how Uchiha Sasuke was worse than Gaara of the Sand, but he had a distinct feeling that Naruto was going to tell him.

"He said that since he only had me for a week, he was going to make the most of it."

Shikamaru unconsciously shuddered as he took a bite of his noodles.

"I couldn't walk right for three days."

"Thbbt!"

"Ack!"

"Sorry," the genius muttered, grabbing a napkin and offering it to the blonde.

* * *

Gaara had decided that moving to Konoha would be a good idea. Specifically, the apartment right next to Naruto's. Of course, this cost money. Back in the Wind country, he had been the son of the village's leader. There was money and housing aplenty. He could take what he wanted and never think twice. However, Temari, who had followed him, didn't think that would fly in Konoha. Naruto wouldn't like it. 

So Gaara had to earn money.

Unfortunately, Konoha wasn't willing to hand out missions to ninjas from other villages. Thus, Gaara had to turn to other sources for income. Fortunately, he had noticed something.

Kakashi sucked at the guitar.

Luckily, Gaara had watched several instructional videos on learning to play.

Temari had failed to understand at the time and therefore declined to comment.

* * *

"I thought you didn't even want him." 

"…"

"You've been sulking ever since you got back."

The dark haired man turned away from his partner, clearly sending the message that this conversation was over and any attempts to continue it would result in death.

Kisame sighed, sometimes, he really didn't understand Itachi.

* * *

Kakashi scratched at his head. 

He was being forced into guitar lessons, and what was worse, he was actually paying for them. Sighing, he could virtually see his acquisition of the latest volume of the Icha Icha series taking longer to get due to lack of funds.

Why would Gaara know how to play, anyway?

Temari smiled apologetically at him, until she had found out about his choice of reading material. She then started whacking him over the head with her fan. He made a mental note never to offer to show her a particularly _interesting_ scene again.

He never agreed with the critics anyway.

"Pay attention."

Kakashi glanced over at his 'instructor' and grinned sheepishly.

"Ah…" He clumsily struck a few chords, wincing when it sounded more like he was skinning a live cat. Wow, he _did_ suck. Just like Gaara had said. The jounin frowned as he thought about how coarsely and straight to the point the Sand nin had delivered that particular piece of information.

The least Gaara could have done was try to soften the blow.

Kakashi glanced over to the corner where Temari was sitting, sewing patches onto clothing. He half suspected she had sewn Gaara's and her own clothes.

Feeling eyes on her, she looked up to see Kakashi staring at her, who, for his part, grinned and winked at her before turning back to Gaara.

She didn't really have any desire to ask what that was about.

However, if he was going to start hitting on her again, she would deliver a very slow and painful death.

* * *

Sasuke was slightly annoyed. He had woken up to discover Naruto esca- gone. He had felt the slight indent next to his body, and noted that it had grown cold. Scowling, he had risen from the bed and started searching the house. 

Naruto was not in the bathroom. However, there was a damp towel hanging up from earlier use. He made a mental note to introduce the blonde to bathroom sex, because water was oh-so-lubricating.

After the bathroom, he tried the servant's kitchen, as the primary had been consumed by flames, to again find it empty. There was, however, evidence of a meal having been prepared. The faint lingering odor coupled with the water droplets on the counter and the grains of seasoning told him Naruto had cooked ramen. Typical.

He'd have to introduce Naruto to other foods, like strawberries and whip cream.

Ramen wasn't sexy.

Well, maybe Naruto thought it was.

Sasuke was lost in thoughts of how Naruto would react if he could somehow incorporate ramen into the bedroom. The blonde would never stray… and probably would demand it every time.

Absently, he wondered how cold the kitchen floor was on bare skin. Maybe the countertop?

He left the kitchen and found himself in the foyer, which opened up to an expansive living room.

How bouncy was the couch? Naruto was the type that would probably like that.

Thoughtfully, he ran his hand along the wall. Smooth… easier to run his hand down than up when force was applied. His hand would almost stick before shooting up the wall. He wondered what sweat would add to that equation. He'd make sure to find out.

The armchair was an interesting piece of furniture. Sturdy. Heavy… wouldn't move too easily. The arms were at waist height… Sasuke wiped the trickle of blood away from his nose with the back of his hand.

Quickly, his eyes swept the room again.

No Naruto. No Naruto's shoes.

He frowned.

Until his eyes caught something.

* * *

Neji would have scowled, if he were prone to facial expressions. He had been in a thunderous mood for the past two weeks. He hated losing. Especially to Uchiha. 

Gaara he didn't care about, because Gaara didn't count. He had even gone through the trouble of hiding a CD player in his sleeve when he went to sing to Naruto. He had no illusions about his vocal talents.

He could always kill Sasuke. Except, he'd wind up a criminal and would probably be put to death by his own family. Idly, he rubbed the bandages on his forehead.

It would take no effort on their part. Damn it!

If it weren't for that stupid jutsu, he'd kill Uchiha. Then he'd run away with Naruto and they'd live life on the lam, regardless of whether Naruto wanted to run away with him or not.

Hinata had been moping around the Hyuuga compound the entire time. He had finally figured out just why she had smelled like smoke at the bingo game.

It had taken him trapping her in a corner and three hours of interrogation. Frankly, he was surprised she had managed to put up such resistance. For once, he couldn't have been prouder of his cousin… and at the same time, slightly afraid.

He had never guessed dear sweet Hinata was capable of arson. Then fleeing the scene and having the gall to show up in front of the two remaining Uchihas afterwards.

It made him rather nervous to think of what else she was capable of.

Ever since he had found out, Neji took special care to avoid her and go over a thorough search of his room every time he entered it.

As far as he knew, she hid snakes in his bed.

* * *

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, eye curving happily. 

"So is Naruto any good in bed?"

Temari yelped as she stuck her finger with a needle, quickly sticking it into her mouth and glaring dangerously at the jounin.

Gaara stared at Kakashi.

His face and eyes appeared blank, but his mind was running furiously.

/_Naruto was walking down the corridor, heading to the kitchen when an arm of sand grabbed him around his middle and shoved him roughly into a closet. _

_Before the blonde had a chance to react, a warm mouth was trailing over his neck as seeking hands traveled under his shirt, bringing him closer to the wanting body._

_Green eyes peered at him in the dark, then a rough tongue was sliding up the side of his face. Wind chapped lips enclosed around the tip of his ear, sucking needily as a hand grabbed his waist and thrust him into another's expectant hips._

_The redhead ground against him huskily, eliciting a slight gasp from the blonde._

_Dipping to the hollow of a warm, tanned neck, Gaara allowed his free hand to travel further up into the shirt roughly, feeling the forbidden expanse of skin._

_Suddenly, the blonde tensed. _

"_Gaara… why is there a creepy sand eye in my pants?"/_

The redhead looked at the sharingan user a moment longer, who after several minutes, still had not rid himself of that ridiculously happy expression.

"That is something you will never know."

The expression faltered into a pout.

* * *

"Naruto." 

Both boys turned towards the sound of the voice, seeing Sasuke standing in the entrance to the shop.

"Sa- Sasuke?" Naruto asked weakly. "How'd you find me?"

"You left a note."

Shikamaru turned a sharp gaze back to the nervous blonde.

"I didn't say where I was going!" he cried, defensively.

"It said, 'Went to eat ramen with Shikamaru.' There's only so many places in Konoha that could be, especially near his house," Sasuke replied, indicating the Nara teen.

Before the blonde could respond to that, Shikamaru opened his mouth. "You left a note?"

"Uh… no?"

Sasuke held up the incriminating piece of paper with Naruto's handwriting scrawled across it.

Shikamaru turned to his eating partner. "You wanted him to find you."

Naruto flushed heatedly, eyes suddenly wide as he gaped at the Nara genius. Resolutely, he turned back to his ramen bowl to ignore them both.

Shikamaru didn't know whether to laugh or smack the blonde, but the results of both actions were deemed far too troublesome to deal with, so he just glanced at the Uchiha heir. Sasuke, for his part, ignored him. His eyes were focused on Naruto, who was trying desperately not to squirm underneath the gaze.

Without saying anything, Sasuke walked over and grabbed Naruto's wrist, nodded his farewell to Shikamaru, and drug the blonde out of the shop.

Naruto quickly discovered that trying to free himself was useless. The Uchiha had a death-grip on his wrist and was refusing to let up, despite cursing, scratching, and biting.

Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed to be searching for something. Dark eyes roamed the streets that were going from busy to dead as they walked further, until they spotted what they had been searching for.

In a matter of seconds, Naruto found himself going from an empty street to being pinned against a wall in a dark alley.

Sasuke smirked hungrily at him. "Naruto, I haven't had breakfast."

The blonde's eyes widened when he realized just what Sasuke intended to have for breakfast. It was orange, blonde, and ramen flavored.

Back at the ramen shop, Shikamaru realized he had just been stuck with the bill.

* * *

Lee was training in the forest when he noticed the squirrels seemed particularly animated. They kept chittering happily, hopping around in excitement. Curious, he walked up to the squirrels, who didn't seem to mind his presence in the least as he tried to figure out what was going on. 

He wasn't, however, fluent in squirrel.

That didn't seem to matter though, as they attached themselves to him and more or less, led him away.

In no time, Lee found himself amidst a large procession of squirrels, walking through some of the older streets of Konoha, looking at the grand houses and compounds. He had passed his teammate's house, hurriedly, as it seemed the Hyuuga compound had a dark and scheming cloud overhead.

The rodents led him further, however, to a section of town he wasn't sure if he had ever been in more than once or twice. On the few previous trips, it had seemed as if the air was saturated with sorrow and death.

Now, it felt as if the thick suffocating black veil of pain and sadness had been replaced with a deviously happy one.

The squirrels seemed very excited about this.

Lee was led up to a rather large compound, seeing large iron gates with a clan symbol wrought into the metal. He recognized that fan, suddenly understanding where he was.

The rodents at his feet urged him on though, and he was led up to the largest house.

They didn't even allow him the chance to knock as they set about opening the door. He briefly wondered how the squirrels had acquired this skill, but realized that it was obviously the result of hard work and determination.

_Were they picking the lock?_

However, as the door swung open, soft noises reached his ears.

Noises that made the tips of his ears turn very very red.

"Sasuke, quit it! Right no-… ohhhhh…"

_That voice…_

On the floor, two sets of legs intertwined with each other stuck out from behind a chair. On the other side, a tuft of blonde and silky black could be seen.

"Hey, Sparky's back!"

Suddenly, the blonde hair and a pair of legs disappeared as the owner shot to their feet to greet one of the squirrels.

Blue eyes widened, however when they fell on Lee… and their many visitors.

"Lee! Thank God you're here!" Naruto sounded extremely relieved.

Lee, on the other hand, believed there was a very logical explanation that would explain what he had just witnessed, one that was not what it looked like, and would hopefully explain Naruto's torn shirt. It looked like someone had sliced it open with a kunai… Until, that is, Sasuke stood up, completely shirtless, nodded at him and wrapped his arms around the blonde, lips fastening onto the juncture of neck and shoulder.

"Sasuke! Lee's here!" Naruto started out growling, ending with a whine.

The Uchiha heir smirked, showing no intentions of letting up, especially as one of his hands traveled lower and a high pitched squeak turned into a low moan.

Lee fainted.

The squirrels chattered amongst themselves, seemingly very interested in this new turn of events.

Naruto slumped over the back of the armchair, swatting away Sasuke's dirty hormone-driven hand.

The Uchiha looked put out momentarily, and paused long enough to glance at the multitude of beady eyes that were staring at him intently. He looked at the rodent Naruto had named Sparky and forced him to keep, knowing somehow, the bastard squirrel had led them here. Lee was passed out on the floor.

He could've sworn he had locked the door.

His eyes traveled to the open door then, and widened when he saw who had just arrived.

Naruto, too noticed.

"Uh… hi Gaara."

Sand poured out around the body of Lee and shoved him outside. The squirrels twittered before swarming out after their fallen comrade, shutting the door behind them.

The redhead, gourd slung over his back and a guitar strangely slung over his front, surveyed the scene before him, eyes lighting strangely.

He thought back to his studies of porn with Kankuro.

"Naruto, we're going to have a threesome."

* * *

THE END!

* * *

I ended with Gaara saying something dirty again. Heh.

Gaara + guitar cute.

Well, I had considered this story 'complete' but I got a lot of reviews asking me to write more and whatnot. So, I took it upon myself to reread the entire thing and I realized it wasn't much of an ending. That's what happens with time constraints, I guess.

It also seemed really short, but that's not the issue here.

So, I (finally) managed to get myself to add an epilogue, of sorts. Hopefully this is more appeasing. It would've taken longer, but there's another story I really want to write, and it didn't feel quite right to start that one, when this one was in Limbo.

Personally, I love Shikamaru. The Sultan of Sloth. He's probably my favorite, second only to Naruto. I'm not sure why he never made it into the story until this point.

Oh, and CHECK OUT MY SCHWEET NARU/SASU DRAWING at deviantart. (Shameless self-promotion.) For those of you that are old enough (and those of you who were like me and didn't care if they weren't, even if I am now) the link's in my profile.


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